Colombia's World Cup run ends in Vancouver as Switzerland advances on penalties
A sea of yellow fans packed BC Place for the final tournament match Tuesday, but Switzerland's 4-3 penalty victory sent thousands home in silence.
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Switzerland advanced to the World Cup quarter-finals by defeating Colombia 4-3 on penalties Tuesday in the final men's World Cup match at BC Place, ending the tournament's run in Vancouver.
The match finished scoreless after 90 minutes and extra time. Switzerland's victory was bittersweet for the thousands of Colombian fans who had flooded downtown Vancouver all day — marching from Jonathan Rogers Park in Mount Pleasant with drums and vuvuzelas, many wearing the sombrero vueltiao, the woven national hat of Colombia.
BC Place reached max capacity at 52,497, a sea of yellow jerseys that represented one of the best match atmospheres of the tournament outside of Canada's games. Colombian supporters vastly outnumbered Swiss fans, with an estimated 30,000 Colombians in attendance. Over 90,000 Colombians live in Canada, while another 1.4 million people of Colombian descent live in the United States.
One day before the match, Colombian players had acknowledged fans gathered at the Hyatt Regency team hotel, waving from the balcony. On match day, supporters marched through downtown singing "Vamos Colombia" — "Let's go, Colombia" — before heading to the stadium.
Inside, fans were loud and enthusiastic, but when the last penalty kick went in for Switzerland, the bars on Granville fell quiet. Most stood in silence, yellow jerseys packed shoulder to shoulder, as it sank in that Colombia's World Cup was over.
Colombia had been looking to reach its first quarter-final since 2014. For Switzerland, the victory was historic — their first quarter-final in a men's World Cup since 1954. The Swiss had swept their three matches at BC Place, also defeating Canada in the group stage and Algeria in the knockout rounds.
Vancouver's World Cup hosting is complete. No more matches are scheduled at BC Place. The FIFA Fan Festival continues at Hastings Park until the final on July 19, and Granville Street remains pedestrianized as a party zone.
